This blog follows a group of family and friends that love to explore and experience adventure. Through various options of travel whether by car, ATV, Jeep, or just a plain old pair of hiking boots we look for fun and exciting ways to learn about our world. Come along and get inspired. You might just find your own route to adventure.

Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Ripley's Believe It or Not in Hollywood

The last museum we hit in Hollywood was the Ripley's Believe It or Not museum. This was part of our three museums on one ticket tour along with the Guinness World Record Museum and the Hollywood Wax Museum. This is also located right down the street from the TCL Chinese Theater to make a fun filled day in tourist town Hollywood. We have not made it to Madam Tussauds Hollywood Wax Museum yet but after seeing the Hollywood Wax Museum we are eager to get there. Here you have Grace McDaniels. She holds the award for the Ugliest Face. I'm not sure how I feel about them giving out awards like this but Grace made the most of it. She worked as a sideshow and people even fainted when they saw her. She was said to have a great personality and was mother to a very normal child who grew up to be her personal manager. I guess when life hands you lemons make lemonade right? Ripley's museum is full of awards like this. You can see the tallest man, the thinnest man and the heaviest man also but that is just the tip of the shocking iceberg. Inside this place of oddities you have no idea what you will ever find. There is a whole section of two headed animals. All of them are real except for one. One of them is a hoax made by a taxidermist. Can you find the fake in the group? I couldn't find it until it was pointed out to me. Even then I couldn't tell. I was shocked by the things nature put out there. Since we are in Hollywood it only seems fitting to pay tribute to the stars of Hollywood too. One of the most fascinating things in the museum was this brick from the actual Yellow Brick Road of Oz fame. The brick isn't yellow at all. If you look at it you would never know that was the brick that Dorthy made her incredible journey on. Above it is a cape from on of the Flying Monkeys as well. I am so thankful that someone took the time to preserve these items for us to enjoy today. I've often wondered what the movie studios do with all those props later on. If I had to guess a lot of them are just tossed away or re-purposed for another film. It would have been very simple to use this brick somewhere else and we would never be the wiser. This ordinary stair case is no ordinary stair case. It is infused with magic! I could have played here all day and if we are being honest here, one day I might. It was that fun to me. This is a musical staircase. Each step plays a different note. If I had one of these in my home I would have the body of an Olympian. As you run up and down you play a tune so if you want to play your favorite song you have to work for it. Its hard work too. If you run stairs for exercise you know how tough this can be. Genius idea for a gym if you are ever inclined to make one. We stayed and played here a while but we didn't want to keep others from enjoying the magic. Set some time aside for this! Call me up and Ill meet you there. I could try to explain all this museum had to offer but really I think you should go see it yourself. This museum is open 364 days a year, closed only on the day of the Oscars. If you want to go here you can buy tickets online for $20 but I strongly suggest you buy the three museum VIP combo. At the time of writing this it is $29.99 for adults and $17.99 for children. All three museums are on the same crazy street so you can park once and see them all. Here is a quick trip video of our time there. Get out there and be amazed at all this world has to offer. ❤ Misty